My 2002 coupe has always been a little notchy from 1-2 and 2-3 since I bought it last July. The past two mornings have been really terrible with the temperature hovering around 0F here in sunny CT. No real grinding, just more effort and a definite feeling of gear clash. I did some searching and found this thread from two years ago:

https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/s...ghlight=notchy

For those who don't want to read it, the posters had '01 and '02 MT coupes with 5000-15000 miles on them. It seems that the dealers told everyone that these transmissions just feel a little notchy and take some effort to get between gears. Furthermore, it's been suggested that the problem gets better or goes away as the gar gets older and wears in.

Two years later I would like to know if that's really true? Has anyone owned one of these things since new and noticed any kind of change in shift quality over the life of the car?

 

I noticed it on the 2-3 shift, just felt like a little small bump was on the side like a notch.

 

try going through all your gears sitting still a couple of times before you drive off...that might help

 

well I'm sure the cold weather doesn't help things much. I've got about 148K on my 6th gen 5spd and it got a little better, although it tends to grind a little in 5th if you don't ease it in. have you though about getting a short throw adapter? it definatly helps. you can pick up a cheap ebay one for $15 and it works just as well as the dc sports or other higher priced ones on the market.

 

Thanks for all the input. I tried rowing through the gears twice before I drove off yesterday afternoon and it didn't give me any trouble at all. It was still a balmy 21 degrees which is usually cold enough to cause difficult shifting. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if the improvement lasts.

I've played with the idea of installing a short-throw adapter but not too seriously. Why would that help? I would have thought that the loss of mechanical advantage would make it somewhat worse.

 

it just lessens the distance of your throws. it makes a noticable difference and it goes into gear just as well if not a little better with the adapter. it pretty much just changes the pivot point on the stick.

 

thats weird, my tranny has like 220k and it doesnt grind into gears but clicks really hard.

 

It has been warmer lately (just freezing as opposed to sub-zero in the morning) and it's not nearly as bad. Still not buttery-smooth but no more gear clash at all. Since synchros are so particular about friction and fluid viscosity I can probably blame it on the frigid weather and thickened transmission fluid (yes, it's Honda fluid).

Maybe I'll look into that short-shift kit just for kicks.